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Lacy, twelve years old and Savannah, eleven years old

Lacy, twelve years old and Savannah, eleven years old
 1908

Medium
gelatin silver photograph
Measurements
11.9 × 17.1 cm (image and sheet)
Place/s of Execution
Carolina, United States
Inscription
inscribed in pencil (vertically) on reverse c.l.: 245
stamped in blue ink (vertically) on reverse c.: N
stamped in purple and black ink (vertically) on reverse c.: IN ORDERING USE THIS NUMBER / N. / HINE PHOTO COMPANY / 27 GRANT AVE. LINCOLN PARK / YONKERS, N.Y. / Set No. (Set No. underlined)
inscribed in pencil (vertically) on reverse l.l.: Both are Spinners / in Carolina cotton mill
inscribed in pencil (inverted) on reverse l.r.: 245
photocopy accompanying paper label: 245 Gastrome, N.C. Nov. 1908 / Lacy (12 yrs. old) and Savannah (11 yrs old) / have worked two years. / Father said "The little one is a cracker- / jack on spinnin', at least so the boss says. / She ain't satisfied unless in the mill. The / oldest one isn't so good at it. Not as quick / (Note the tense, serious looks on the / younger. Older one more like a roal girl).
Accession Number
PH47-1980
Department
International Photography
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1980
Public domain
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Daryl and Anne Whinney
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work

‘Perhaps you are weary of child labour pictures. Well, so are the rest of us, but we propose to make you and the whole country so sick and tired of the whole business that when the time for action comes, child labour pictures will be records of the past.’
Lewis Hine, 1909
Originally trained as a sociologist, Lewis Hine worked for the National Child Labour Committee. In this role he used photographs, along with the carefully recorded personal details of his subjects, to build an immense documentary account of the prevalence of child labour in factories, mines and textile mills of the United States of America at the start of the 20th century.